Opinion: Arizona voters deserve a debate from Katie Hobbs

What kind of a person is capable of self-government? Just as importantly, how do free people remain free?

These are two questions I ask of my high school government students throughout the entire semester. They are that important. We read important texts such as "Democracy in America," Locke's "Second Treatise on Government," "City of God" by Augustine and many more primary sources to help us respond to these perennial questions.

As a private citizen and lifetime resident of Arizona, I'm simply suggesting a modest proposal that elected officials ought to tell us what they believe and why. That they publicly defend their record. One would think this should be something to be enormously proud of.

However, can our representative form of government long endure when those who represent us refuse to have their views and their records publicly challenged?

It’s been eight long years since Gov. Katie Hobbs has publicly debated anyone. And this was for her run for another Arizona office — secretary of state. Meanwhile, Gov. Hobbs has served in the highest elected office in Arizona for more than three years, telegraphing her actions through press releases, spokespersons and the occasional press interactions.

When I ran for the state House and Senate, I attended as many public debates as I could since I wanted to connect with those voters that I could never reach otherwise. I have always believed it was my duty while an elected official to call back every reporter who wanted a comment, to attend every public debate and to explain not only what legislation I was proposing but why.

Gov. Hobbs' stated reason through her campaign manager for why she refuses to debate her Republican opponent is that "face-to-face engagement with Arizonans is more effective than a stage designed for short soundbites and political theater." While Gov. Hobbs might consider having to defend her record "political theater," most Arizonans, especially those not dialed in to the state Capitol, i.e., the majority of us, simply want to know what she thinks and why.

Arizona has approximately 3.5 million registered voters, and early voting for the general election begins on Oct. 7. So other than that small band of brothers, those happy few who get face-to-face time with the governor, the rest of us in the cheap seats have to grasp in the dark as to where our governor stands on policies that affect all of us and our families.

Love or hate Andy Biggs, he will always shoot straight with you. Back when I served in the state House, then Majority Leader Kimberly Yee was holding up three of my bills from the House. Andy was then our Senate president, and I knocked on his door to see if he would free up these bills to allow an up-or-down vote. He told me he didn't like the first bill, that he'd put up the second bill if I amended it, and the third bill would go up the next day. I've always appreciated his honesty.

As Arizona residents, we simply want to know if the governor's making her own decisions or is relying on the people around her. Now is the chance, Gov. Hobbs, to demonstrate to all Arizona residents what you believe and why.

So if I could ask Gov. Hobbs in one of those exclusive face-to-face meetings, I'd ask:

— Why did you veto the Republican Legislature's tax cuts, then later take credit for them?<

— Why are you unwilling to sit down for an interview with the Arizona attorney general and put the "pay-to-play" issue to bed?

— Why did you veto Arizona's participation in a federal scholarship tax-credit program that supporters estimate could generate more than $1 billion in potential scholarship funding for Arizona students, without costing the state a dime? Especially when your Democratic counterparts in New York and Colorado have opted in.

As Arizona residents, we would love to see at least one public debate, if not more, so we can be better informed when voting begins. We could have Ted Simons, arguably the fairest moderator out there, to host the debate, broadcast on PBS.

Can our representative government long endure when its top elected representatives refuse to explain themselves and instead run everything through staffers and spokespersons?

Let us all hope we don't have to find out the answer to this one.